Soul Cycle
by Dragonsjustice
Summary: Because they are just names, just bodies. It's the spirit essence that Bill has a hold on. /Because Bill's wheel is slowly re-assembling itself, and just when his plans are finally coming back together again./ Major AU crossover.
1. Chapter 1

It was a mostly normal day at the Mystery Shack. Nobody appeared to have been eaten by the mailman-who-was-almost-certainly-a-werewolf, which was good (last night had been a full moon).

The sun was shining brightly down on the small town of Gravity Falls, and all seemed well.

A scream of pain and terror ripped through the forest.

From where he stood, Stanley Pines spun around with his fists clenched. That... That sounded like his nephew.

Not even bothering to call Ford for help, Stan took off into the trees. He ignored the small pains that twinged in his arms and shoulders from stiffness or thorns-he didn't care what happened to him as long as his family was okay.

They weren't.

Dipper's stomach was ripped open, blood spilling out onto pine needles and fallen leaves. Mabel lay a few feet away with only the faint rise and fall of her chest to betray the fact that her prone body was alive.

Crouched over them was something that looked like a cross between a crab and a wet marshmallow. Drooling mandibles snapped at him, and a pair of yellow eyes blinked slowly at him.

Stan pulled his brass knuckles out of his pocket. This monster dared to touch _his_ kids. A twig snapped behind him, and Stan didn't have to turn around to know that Ford had caught up and was taking in the scene.

But he didn't have time to think about that now. What he _did_ have time to think about was the fact that Dipper was going to die if he didn't get immediate medical attention. And he couldn't tell what the damage to Mabel's fragile body was from this distance.

"Ford," Stan growled, not breaking eye contact with the creature. "Get Mabel and Dipper out of here and to a hospital as fast as you can. I'll handle ugly."

Then, faster than the blink of an eye, the monster lunges.

"Die!" It hisses wetly. Stan dodges, surprised that it can speak English. Most of the creatures in the forest aren't nearly smart enough for that.

As he gives it a strong blow to what he thinks is the jaw, the creature _ripples._ Its form changes, and suddenly Stan is fighting a spider the size of a RV.

Its fangs almost impale his arm, but manages to leap aside at the last minute.

So he doesn't notice when the monster changes shape for a second time.

But he does when it laughs madly and stabs him right through the heart.

"STANLEY!"

Someone's screaming his name now. But the darkness is already there, and he just has to reach out and grab it.

So he does, because somehow he knows that this is his time.

.

.

.

Across the country, a newborn boy takes his first breath of air and lets out a thin, reedy scream.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of them he manages to kill in ways that are slightly more normal. But only slightly.

Pine Tree and Shooting Star both go down to failed medical procedures that should have saved their lives.

Glasses is old-Bill rips his heart right out of his chest and nobody cares.

Ice Bag and Bleeding Heart are both taken down in a car crash.

Llama is kidnapped and held for ransom by members of the Illuminati (who all work for him, by the way). When her parents fail to pay up, they put a bullet in her brain.

Six Fingers goes insane. It's fun, really. Bill watched when he did Bill's work for him and ended his own life.

Pentagram is poisoned in a seemingly random act of prison revenge. Stupid kid should've known better than to make a second deal with him.

As for Question Mark... He really should have driven to Portland instead of taking a plane. Planes crash, after all. But so do cars. It would have been much more convenient, too. Music Note cried for weeks.

Of course, doing all of these physical manifestations was hard work. So Bill waits, and bides his time as he waits for the right moment to spring his plan into action.

He misses the familiar tingle that lets him know that one or more of his souls has re-entered the cycle.

But this time, things are going to be a bit different.


	3. Chapter 3

When a body dies, the soul is pushed out into an in-between place. There, they can see all of their previous incarnations and reflect on them. When they are reborn, they forget all of it. Simple.

But sometimes, when the soul has a strong magical connection, they will be able to "feel" or sense where they _should_ be.

 _How_ they should be.

While souls may have several base traits that they will always have, everything else is up to chance. Their personality will change depending on their upbringing and their morals.

And when they are a part of something as powerful as the Cipher Wheel, they tend to find each other.

Bleeding Heart is a girl this next time. Much more cheerful, too. His-no, _her_ love of black is still the same, and she has several gothic-inspired tattoos. But they are far smarter than they ever were before.

Oddly enough, she works with Glasses. Glasses himself is far less insane than he was in his past life, and has a successful writing career along with his regular job.

Fez, strangely, is a hero. Not like a policeman, but an actual _hero_. One who can run faster than the speed of sound. But he still has his love of pranks, and his intelligence-which could probably rival that of Six Fingers at this point.

Ah, Six Fingers. He's a girl too. This one with magic running through her veins and rather know-it-all personality. But she has several close companions, including one who might just turn out to be more.

Ice Bag has a powerful best friend. One whose very existence manages to defy the laws of death. Another hero, actually. She's rich in this life, compared to her more simple living conditions when she was a lumberjack.

Pentagram is vastly different. He's not nearly as spoiled in this life compared to the last one, and he looks less like a living ventriloquist dummy and more like an actual human. Pretty smart, too.

Shooting Star, in an incredibly strange happenstance, ends up in another dimension. One where she is born into magical royalty. But she retains her love of glitter, puppies, and making other people happy. And somehow, she becomes friends with Pine Tree.

Pine Tree isn't as different as expected. He is far safer than he was before, and with a rather peculiar upbringing, but he is still mostly the same. Pine Tree dislikes Shooting Star at first, but it's impossible for a soul mate (platonic or otherwise) to hate its match.

Question Mark is small and chubby. He tries to be friends with everyone, and somehow finds a Prendergast. A medium from a long line of mediums. Oh, this should be very interesting.

Llama is maybe the most unlike her former life. In fact, the only thing that is the same is her blond hair and blue eyes. This Llama can trick and fight and _scream,_ a powerful force for the fight of good. She's almost unrecognizable in her helpfulness and stark lack of evil. Llama is a _therapist_ , for Satan's sake. That high level of change in between reincarnations is almost unheard of.

And then, of course, they all throw a massive magical wrench in Bill's carefully-laid plans.

 ** **Saap van eaxhuzs. Zai fdk sgqeeuzs ftq otmdmofqde.****


	4. Chapter 4

It starts out as a tugging in his gut. One that drives him to run and run and never stop until he disappears.

It's not an unfamiliar sensation-the speed force is the driver behind most of his actions. But... It feels different this time. Less like a push and more like a magnet that both pulls and repels him away from somewhere.

It's always the same. And whenever he tries to follow it, his body revolts and says _no no wron g_. So he stops trying and ignores the impulse.

Wallace West will wait.

.

.

.

It starts out as a tugging in her gut. One that tells her two work hard and babble almost nonsensically. But it makes sense to _her_ , and that's all that really matters.

The color black is so familiar. Black means warmth and safety and death. Somehow all at once. She feels better amongst death and the weapons that cause it than she does around actual people.

Like she grew up there.

Slowly, the tugging gets worse. As if it wants her to go somewhere.

But even though she probably believes in magic and monsters, she still doesn't believe in fate.

Abigail Sciuto will ignore.

.

.

.

It starts out as a tugging in his gut. It's always been there. It's... Terrifying, actually. The idea that this might not really be his home.

But his family is here. Isn't it?

Maybe that's why he always wants to be so safe. Because somehow he knows that there are driving forces out of his control. Of course, his new foreign exchange student confirmed that on her first day here, but this is a different kind of dangerous.

One that he's not so sure that he can fight.

Marco Diaz will worry.

.

.

.

It starts out as a tugging in her gut. She told her parents about it once, but they just dismissed the sensation.

When she arrived on earth, it increases tenfold. But she doesn't tell her friends, because she's worried that they will treat her differently because of it.

Her spellbook doesn't have anything about it, and the glossary is pretty much useless. Her magic wand is basically rubbish when it comes to healing, and this isn't exactly the most normal sickness.

It lessens the further west she goes, which is another reason to love sunsets.

Star Butterfly will heal.

.

.

.

It starts out as a tugging in her gut. It's different from magic, and from anything in any book she's ever read. Nobody in either world knows anything about it.

So she keeps it to herself. Her friends have enough problems to deal with already. They don't need to know about a feeling inside of her akin to homesickness, even though this is where she lives for most of the year.

 _It'll go away eventually_ , she tells herself. _It's just a side effect of magic._

But it doesn't. It never does.

Hermione Granger will stay quiet.

.

.

.

It starts out as a tugging in his gut. Not like he gets when he sees a pretty girl or he has to cover for his friend when he talks to people that only he can see.

It's more as if he ate just a little too much food and then went to bed without brushing his teeth. Like there's a film inside of him that won't let go.

But if he tells anyone, he'll lose one of the the only friends that he's ever made.

So he keeps quiet and doesn't say a word.

Neil Downe will be anxious.

.

.

.

It starts out as a tugging in her gut. Like when she unleashes her power on the scum of the earth. But different, too.

Like she's... Homesick, for a home that she never had.

It's not easy to diagnose yourself, but she'll try. Of course, it doesn't work.

So she reads her books and goes to her conferences, but none of it tells her to follow it to the source.

She doesn't, anyway.

Dinah Lance will test.

.

.

.

It starts out as a tugging in his gut. It twists and tingles through his fingers and stomach. Somehow, he feels that it is connected to the way that he feels about computers.

Like he _made_ them, even if he didn't.

Like they _owe_ him something for their existence.

Weird. But then, he's pretty weird.

Or at least his books are. And some people would kill to have his job.

Timothy McGee will forget.

.

.

.

It starts out as a tugging in his gut. The same kind that happens when he successfully throws a rave, or he interacts with the aliens that his friend lives with.

Proud and apprehensive. Not like how he gets when his dad takes him out fishing. He doesn't want to be a fisherman like him.

Maybe his dad will be more proud of his little brother.

Or... Maybe not. That kid is strange as hell. Even stranger than some of the other stuff down on the beach.

Sour Cream will blame.

.

.

.

It starts out as a tugging in her gut. Like when she turns intangible and slides through walls and floor with ease.

But not exactly the same.

It lessens in the Zone, for some reason. As if it has been blocked by some sort of invisible wall.

She hypothesizes that it has to do with the change in dimensions, because that's really all that makes sense.

Well, that or she's crazy. Honestly, that's probably what her parents think of her anyways.

Samantha Manson will theorize.

.

.

.

One by one, Bill takes them.

 **Yw xziwvfo dszh blf drhs vli.**


	5. Chapter 5

Wally West wakes up wrapped in chains. He groans softly and tries to move, but everything is heavy and slow.

Something is missing. The familiar buzz that hums across his skin has disappeared.

Wally can't feel the speed force.

He tosses a hand out as if it's a physical thing that he can grab, but instead his bindings just smash into someone else.

They yelp in pain. "Ow!"

It's a girl, in her teens if Wally had to guess. He winces as he imagines what it must be like to get hit with a chain.

"Sorry! I didn't know you were there, I just... Sorry."

There's a pause, and then a clinking sound. Wally realizes that she must be chained too.

"It's okay," she mutters. "You just surprised me, is all."

Wally pinches at his clothes. Civvies, not a uniform. Well, that's a plus. But he can't use his speed anyways.

Hell, he can't even feel the comforting electric tingle anymore.

"What's your name?" He asks softly, trying to sit up. "Mine's Wally."

"Sam," she grunts. "Pleasure. Do you have any idea where we are?"

The speedster looks around. Blackness faintly lit by blue-flamed candles.

"Nope. Are we the only ones here?"

There's a moan across from him, as it in answer.

Wally doesn't need to see Sam to know that she's smirking. "No."

"Where am I?" A young male voice asks. "A basement?"

"No," someone else female answers, and Wally's heart leaps when he recognizes the person who says it. "I don't think so."

"Dinah?" Wally calls, wiggling around as much as his bonds allow. "Is that you?"

"Wally?" Surprise colors her voice. "Where are you?"

"Across from you, I think. Any idea where we are? Sam and I were just discussing it."

"Sam?"

"That's me," the girl speaks up. "You two know each other?"

"We're... Colleagues," Dinah answers.

"That's all well and good." Someone new is talking now. A girl with a British accent. "But how are we going to get out of these chains?"

Experimentally, Wally tries to vibrate his arm. Instead of phasing through the chain like he thought it would, his arm suddenly lights up with blue flame.

Wally gasps in pain and rolls over as much as he can, suffocating the fire with his body weight.

"Are you okay?" New person, male and on Wally's other side.

Okay, how many people are in here?

The redhead poses the question out loud, and several new people answer.

Next to him, Sam sighs. "I think there's ten of us in all. Does anyone remember who captured us?"

Everybody replies that no, they don't. The last thing that they can recall is falling asleep.

Dinah's outline sits up across the room-their eyes have mostly adjusted by now. The gorgeous meta cleared her throat. "Can anybody escape their chains?"

"I... Think I can." The boy who introduced himself as Marco responds. "There's some slack on my legs."

A loud clatter echoes through the chamber.

"Got it!" Marco calls triumphantly. "Alright, who's next?"

Wally squirms. "Me. I can help once you get these off of me."

 **Qnlqernzf ner whfg jnxvat avtugznerf.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Keeper of Worlds:** No, he's from the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. That's just how I've been picturing him.

 **That last line is a reference to what's going to happen in the next chapter.**

 **I still don't own anything.**

Once everyone was freed, the ten people look around the… Room? Was it a room?

Something grabs Sam's hand.

She yelps (something that she would later vehemently deny) and swings out with one hand, landing a solid punch on Neil's shoulder.

The younger boy squeals in pain. "Ow!"

Sam winced. "Sorry. Why did you grab my hand?"

He shrugs, or at least that's what it looks like in the shadows. "So that we don't get separated."

"Isn't there somebody else that you can hang onto like a demented limpet?"

"Well, yeah." Neil doesn't seem to have any problems with her tone. "But you feel like my friend does."

Sam snorts. "I'm not your friend."

"No." Neil frowns for a moment. "But you kinda feel like him. All… electrical and shiny."

"How the fu- _hell_ does someone feel shiny?"

Neil shrugs cheerfully. "I don't know. You just _do."_

A blond missile that Sam remembers to be the girl that called herself "Star Butterfly, or just Star" slams into the goth.

"Have you seen it?!" She screams in Sam's ear at a noise level that only dogs should be able to hear.

The purple-eyed girl hisses and batts the other teenager off of her. "Seen what?"

"My wand. It's… It's got white wings, a little crown on top, there's a crown in the middle of the bubble-thing on the end. And it has a purple handle, with a little blue crystal-y heart on the end. So have you seen it? Have you have you have you?!"

Sam growls. "No. I haven't seen your _wand._ Now get _off_ of me."

Star jumps off, and is immediately grabbed on the shoulder by her friend… Marco? He whispers something in her ear and leads her over to the British girl, Herm-something. Said girl is currently patting down her pockets with a frantic expression expression on her face.

The guy who was next to her, Wally, is talking quietly to the blond woman-Diana, or Dinah. The kid with hair that's almost white (he had a weird name too, some kind of condiment?) is pulling some small pieces of technology from his pocket. The ones who knew each other, Sam's fellow goth (she'll ask about those cool tattoos later) and the other man, are awkwardly assessing everyone.

And Neil _still won't let go of her arm._

She tries to shake him, but she was right in her previous assessment of him being like a limpet.

Condiment Kid puts his technology away and doesn't seem to notice when the other goth's friend (Tom? Jim? Tim, she's pretty sure that it's Tim) looks at it with interest. Star and Herm-something are both speaking nervously, while Marco tries to cheer them up.

Sam clears her throat. "Does anybody know what we're going to do now?"

Dinah looks over. "I have a suggestion." At Sam's nod, she continues. "If we head that way and follow the wall, we should come to a door or at least a dead end. It might help us get our bearings, or at least figure who… brought us here. And why."

The other goth girl (and now Sam thinks that she can remember her name being Abby) sighs. "Well, it's as good a plan as any. But we still don't really know where we are. Maybe some of us should stay here and some can go the other way, and then we can figure out how we can signal each other and-"

The ground rumbles, and a roar echoes through the cavern.

Other Goth Girl gulps. "Or we could just run now and work out the rest later!"

The ten take off, into the Unknown.

 **Gur ornfg vf jngpuvat.**


	7. Chapter 7

**The Keeper of Worlds:** Sam's only powers will be touched upon in this chapter, but I figured that because she has been overshadowed, possessed, turned into a ghost dragon, was there when the portal opened, has been into the Ghost Zone, etc, she would have enough ectoplasmic residue near her for Neil to detect. Especially since he's friends with Norman.

 **Have I said that I don't own anything yet? Because I don't.**

Dinah soon discovers that she was wrong; the room doesn't end in a wall or a door.

Instead, it simply doesn't end at all.

As they ran, Wally cursing the fact that his speed had to end _now,_ of all times, the place where they had been chained opened up into a shadowy forest.

Strange sounds and long patches of silence issued from the undergrowth, but there were no birds chirping or deer pushing their way through the bushes.

Sam looks around, panting. "None of these trees look familiar..."

"You know how to identify plants?" Herm-something asked.

"Yeah. I have a greenhouse back home, and I've got all sorts of exotic plants and flora in there." Sam smiles. She doesn't mention anything about the fact that she can sometimes feel what the plants are thinking, ever since the Undergrowth incident.

And she doesn't mention that all of these plants feel cold and hostile.

Something crashes through the branches behind them, bellowing and howling.

"Quick!" Someone new and female calls. "There's a hollow on the other side of this ridge; it won't be able to find you there."

Without breaking stride, Dinah slings Sam and Neil over her shoulder, while her friend Wally grabs Star and Marco. Condiment Kid and Herm-something (Sam really needs to learn her name) both fling themselves down into the small ravine after them, while Other Goth Girl and Tim follow with a bit more grace.

Marco yelps as his head collides with a nearby tree trunk. "Ow!"

Someone lands beside them. "It wasn't _that_ hard. Walk it off, kid."

The _someone_ is a girl with red-orange hair wearing a ripped dress. She has a few freckles across her nose and cheeks, and bright eyes that gleam in the dim light of the sun and shade.

Sam likes her immediately.

Herm-something is extending a hand towards the newcomer, as if she expects something to be in her fingers that she could use to defend herself. When she realizes that there's nothing there, she drops her arm with a sheepsh expression.

Dinah leans forward. "Who are you?"

Before the girl can answer, whatever it was that was chasing them smashed past on the ridge above them. It screamed like a thousand people in agony, and everyone instinctively covered their ears.

The new girl winces and crosses her arms. "I'm Beatrice."

"It's nice to meet you, Beatrice!" Wally grins and holds out his hand for her to shake, which she ignores.

Star helps Marco to his feet, and the boy rubs at his forehead.

Neil, thank whatever deity is listening right now, releases her arm and jogs over to check on him along with Condiment Kid.

Wally coughs and brings his hand back down to his side. "So, uh, how did you know that that would work? Hiding back here, I mean."

"That thing has been hunting here for a while," Beatrice says. "You're lucky that you even got away." Her voice drops down to a mumble, like she doesn't expect them to hear her. "'Least The Beast didn't find you."

Other Goth Girl-Abby, exchanges a glance with Probably Named Tim.

"The Beast?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

Beatrice flinches. "Monster. Nasty. Turns you into-into an Edelwood Tree. He's… Mostly gone now, luckily."

That's clearly all that she wants to say on the subject, so Sam doesn't push it. But Wally and Abby both look like they're going to, so Sam interrupts.

"Okay. Can you tell us where we are?"

"The Unknown."

"And where is _that,_ exactly," Dinah asks.

Beatrice opens her mouth, before pausing and biting her lip. "I… I, uh…" She pauses. "I don't know."

 **Zvaq naq znggre pna obgu oraq ng jvyy.**

 **Did I do Beatrice right? I've never done her before, so...**


	8. Chapter 8

**I may have been spelling Neil wrong the entire time…? *does quick google search* Nope! Correct!**

"Well, that's just fantastic," Sam grouses. She didn't even know that it was possible to _grouse_ before this moment.

"Look on the bright side," Star chirps. "At least now we sort-of know where we are."

Marco rubs his forehead. "I just want to go home."

Beatrice stares at them. "What did you two say your names were?"

"I'm Star Butterfly, but you can call me Star! And this is Marco."

Beatrice leans forward. "Can I see your wrists?"

Marco, in response, leans slightly _away._ "Um, no. That's a little weird."

Beatrice reaches out and grabs it anyways.

Engraved into the flesh, almost like a brand, is the simplistic outline of a pine tree.

Marco and Star both stare at it. "That… That wasn't there before!"

Beatrice, meanwhile, has stepped backward until her spine touches the rough, damp bark of the tall tree behind her. "I knew it," she mutters to herself, rubbing place where the bridge of her nose meets her forehead. "Of course they're back. Of course."

"What do you mean?" Marco asks, tucking the branded arm behind his back.

"I… I _had_ someone like you two before. It's hard to explain, but sometimes people get lost here. And sometimes, they don't ever manage to find their way back home." The redheaded girl rubbed at her own upper arms.

"Like us two?" Star asks. "But… I'm the only me that I've ever known."

"Ever heard of reincarnation?"

There is a chilling silence after that. Nobody talks, no wind rustles the leaves and the tree branches above them, no birds sing, and no animals push their way through the undergrowth.

"Tha-that's ridiculous," Herm-something says shakily. "There's no evidence to suggest any correlation between soul energy and the afterlife."

Beatrice shrugs. "Well, I know that not everybody gets reincarnated"-here she shivers and mutters something that sounds like " _Pottsville"_ -"but some do. It's not _that_ uncommon."

Marco shifts uncomfortably. "So… You're saying that you knew us? Before, in another life?"

"Yes. Both of you-and, I think, you. Guy with the brown hair? Yeah, you."

Probably-named-Tim starts. "Um, what?"

"Yeah, I had a Glasses just a little bit before I had those guys."

Tim reaches up and touches his not-wearing-glasses face. "Okay, then. I think it's time for us to leave-"

"Do you know your way through the forest?" Beatrice interrupts.

"Uh, no?"

"Well, then, you need me. I know every length of this forest-or at least the parts of it that stay the same." Beatrice pauses. "The bits that move around are harder. I also"-she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bag-"have food."

Wally leans forward. "Count me in!"

Dinah grabs the back of his shirt. "Slow down. How do we know that we can trust you?"

Beatrice looks a little miffed. "I just saved your sorry butts from a monster. You guys owe me."

"We should vote," Herm-something says decisively. "Who want to go with Beatrice?"

Star, Condiment Kid, Abby, Neil, Wally, and (slowly) Sam all raise their hands.

"And who wants to continue on our own?"

Herm-something herself, Probably-Named-Tim, Dinah, and Marco all raise their hands.

"Ha!" Wally points to Dinah. "You're outvoted."

Beatrice smirked. "Come on. We don't have all day, and the sun is already setting."

"What?" Abby looks up at the sky with a confused expression on her face. "That's so weird… Wasn't it just early morning?"

"Probably." Beatrice shrugs. At the look that the others give her she blinks and crosses her arms. "What? Time is pretty weird in the Unknown. It's all because of the Beast."

"What _is_ the Beast, exactly?" Dinah asks.

"Probably a wild beast. It's kinda obvious from the name," Condiment Kid states. It was the first time that Sam had heard him speak since he introduced himself back when they were all chained up.

Batrice nods to him. "Yep. He can control you be looking into your eyes and hypnotizing you. His old servant, the Woodsman by the old mill, used to go around cutting down the trees that the Beast made from lost souls. I think that he thought it was to keep his daughter alive-but it was actually just to serve the Beast's own selfish needs."

Herm-something shudders. "That's horrible!"

"Yeah. An old friend of mine almost got turned into an Edelwood tree by him." She jerks her chin in the direction of Star and Marco.

The boy's eyes widen. "You mean…"

"The last time that I encountered your souls, you beat the Beast."

A loud roar echoed through the trees.

"Which is probably why he wants to kill you both so badly."

 **Ohea gur gerrf, oevat qbja gur fgnef.**


End file.
